Wire-feeding mechanism



April 30, 1940.

R. w. CVUMMINGS 2,198,695

WIRE-FEEDING MECHANISM Filed April 3, 1939 mffw Patented Apr. 30, 1940 WIRE-FEEDING MECHANISM Roy Cummings, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough ofFlemington, N. J., a corporation of New J ersey.

Application April 3, 1939, Serial No. 265,638

6 Claims. (Cl. 140-125) This invention relates to wire-feeding mechanism. The invention is herein illustrated as embodied in mechanism designed to serve as part of a machine for use in the manufacture of shoes for shaping uppers over lasts, as disclosed in a copending application of A; Pym, Serial No. 265,419, filed on April 1, 1939, but it is to be understood that it is more generally applicable to various uses. l

In the machine shown in the above-mentioned application the wire-feeding mechanism serves,

in the course of the operation of the machine on each shoe, to feed binder wire which is applied around the toe end of the shoe to hold the upper in lasted position. In such a machine it is im portant that the proper amount of wire be fed each time the wire-feeding mechanism is operated. 'An object of the present invention accordingly is to provide a construction such as to insure against any slippage of the feeding means on the wire. To this end, the construction herein shown comprises a pair of coaxial feed wheels arranged to grip the wire between opposed faces thereof, near their peripheries, a substantial dis To deflect, the wire away from the wheels where it leaves tance about the axis of the wheels.

them, a thin plate is located between the wheels to serve as a stripper; and in order to guard against excessive wear on this plate, the invention provides a construction in which the feed wheels are beveled so that their opposed wiregrippin-g faces diverge from each other toward the peripheries of the wheels, thus facilitating disengagement of the wire from the wheels bythe action of the stripper thereon. Still further to insure the proper feedingiof the wire, one of the wheels. in the construction herein shown, isprovided with a series of teeth which grip the wire against the other wheel.

,The novel features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying draw ingand thereafter pointed out in the claims.

, In' the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view, with parts broken away,

of wire-feeding mechanism in which the invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 shows the mechanism in vertical section; and

i Fig. 3 is a view, partly. in elevation and partly in section, showing the feed wheels on an enlarged scale.

The drawing shows only as much of the wirefeeding mechanism included in the machine disanother shaft 44.

closed in the above-mentioned application as it is necessary to describe for an understanding of the present invention. The. wire w is fed by a pair of coaxial feed wheels 2 and 4 supported by a casting 6 on which is secured a top plate 8. This plate is recessed to receive the feed wheels and supports a shaft H) which rotates with them, the shaft having an enlarged head l2 mounted in a bearing in the plate. The feed wheel 2 is provided with a sleeve 14, extending along the shaft l0, and the wheel 4 with a sleeve I6 surrounding the sleeve l4. Attheir lower ends the two sleeves have slots I B therein atopposite sides of the shaft l0, and into these slots extend tongues 20 formed on a member 22 which is clamped against a shoulder on the shaft by a nut 24. The feed wheels, together with the shaft l0, are accordingly driven by the member 22. Bearing at its lower end against this member is a spring 26 which bears at its upper end against a collar 28 in engagement with the lower feed wheel 4. The spring, therefore, tends to force thelower feed wheel upwardly to grip the wire against the up- ,rnember 32 being held against axial movement by engagement of the casting with a shoulder 34 on the member and with a washer 36 confined by a beveled gear 38 fast on the lower end of the member. In mesh with this gear, is another beveled gear .40 keyed to a shaft 42 rotatable in the casting S and connected by a universal joint to This shaft'may be operated by means of the character disclosed in the previ- 40 ously mentioned application, but it is to be understood that the invention is not dependent upon the use ofmeans of any particular character for rotating thefeed wheels. In the construction shown the member 32 is rendered effective to opcrate the member 22 by the provision of intermeshing teeth 46 on thetwo members, these teeth having beveled side faces so that in the event of any obstruction to the feeding of the wire the teeth on the member 32 may slip over the teeth 50 on the member 22, the latter being forced upwardly against the resistance of the spring 26.

The wire is gripped between opposed faces of the feed wheels 2 and 4 adjacent to their peripheries, as illustrated at the right-hand side of Fig. 66

tends in substantially tangential relation to the peripheries of the feedwheels and its inner end is in the same plane as the opening between the I wire-gripping faces of the wheels. The wire is confined in a curve between the feed wheels somewhat more than half way around the axis of the wheels by the plate 8, as illustrated in Fig. 1. To

deflect the wire from between the wheels there is provided a thin plate 62 a: portion of which is of annular form and lies between the wheels and another portion of which extends outwardly from between them, as shown in Fig. 1, to serve as a stripper for thewire. This outwardly extending portion is secured to the plate 8 and cooperates with the latterto provide-a curved. guideway 64 for the wire, this guideway being continued between a wall of the plate Sand another plate 66 and leading toward means whereby the wire is utilized. w I w It will be understood that the stripper plate 62 is sufficiently thin to permit the Wire to be properly gripped by the feed wheels and also to. prevent undesirable friction between the wheels and the plate. In order to prevent excessive wear on the plate byreason of the contact of the wire therewith where the wire is deflected out from between the wheels, the wire-gripping portions of the wheels are so formedas to facilitate the disengagement of the wire from their gripping faces. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the wheels are beveled so that their wire-gripping faces 48 and 5D diverge from eachother toward the peripheriesof the wheels, thus making it comparatively easy'for the stripper plate to deflect the Wire outwardly. In the construction shown the wire-grippingface 48 of the wheel 2 is continuous all around the axis of the wheels, while the gripping face 50 of the wheel 4 is provided by a series of teeth 68 which engage the wire, thus affording still more effective insurance against slippage of thewheelson the wire.

It will thus be seen that the inventionprovicles wire-feeding mechanism which, as compared with feed wheels arranged to grip, the wire between peripheral faces thereof, affords greater insurance against slippage of the wheelsonthe wire under any conditions, by reason of the length of wire engaged by the wheels, the construction being such as to render. it practicable to use coaxial feed wheels for the purpose in view without danger of excessive wearon the mechanism. Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: v I

1. In wire-feeding mechanism, a pair of coaxial feed wheels relatively movable axially. and

arranged to grip a wire .betweenopposed faces thereof in a curve part way around their axis, and means for stripping the wire from the wheels, said feed wheels being formed to provide between their wire-gripping faces an opening increasing in width toward the peripheries of the wheels to facilitate disengagement of the wire from the wheels by said stripping means.

2. In wire-feeding mechanism, a pair of coaxial feed wheels arranged to grip a wire between opposed faces thereof in a curve part way around their. axis, and'a stripper for engaging the wire between thewheels and deflecting it outwardly away from them, one at least of said feed wheels being beveled to provide a wire-gripping face divergingfrom. the opposed face of the other wheel toward the peripheries of the wheels to facilitate deflection of the wire away from the wheelsby said stripper.

3. In wire-feeding mechanism, a pair of coaxial feed wheels relatively movable axially and arranged to grip a wire between opposed faces thereof ina curve part way around their axis, a

spring tending to effect relative axial movement of said wheelstocause themto grip the wire, and a stripper extending outwardly from between the wheels for deflecting the wire away from them, said feed wheels being formed to provide between their wire-gripping faces an opening increasing in width toward the peripheries of the wheels to facilitate deflection of the wire away fromthem by said stripper.

4. In wire-feeding mechanism, a pair of coaxial feed wheels relatively movable axially and arranged to grip a wire between opposed faces thereof in a curve part way around their axis, a spring tending to effect relative axial movement of said wheels to cause them to grip the wire,and means for stripping the wire from the wheels, one at leastof said feed wheels being beveled to provide a wire-gripping face diverging from the opposed face of the other wheel toward the peripheries of the wheels and one of them having a series of teeth for engaging the wire.

5. In wire-feeding mechanism, a pair of coaxial feed wheels relatively movable axially and arranged to grip a wire between opposed faces thereof adjacent to their peripheries, means 10 cated opposite the peripheries of the wheels for confining the, wire between them in a curve part way around their axis, and a stripper for disengaging the wire from the wheels beyond the region where it is thus confined,'the wire-gripping faces of the Wheels diverging from each other toward their peripheries to facilitate such disengagement of the wire therefrom.

6. In wire-feedingmechanism, a pair of coaxial feed wheels relatively movable axially and arranged to grip awire between opposed faces thereof adjacent to their peripheries, means located opposite the peripheries of the wheels for confining the wire between them in a curve part way around their axis, and a stripper for disengaging the wire from the Wheels. beyond the region where it is thus confined, the wheels being beveled: to provide between them a wire-receiving openingincreasing in width toward their periph-. eries to facilitate disengagement of, the wire from the wheels and one of them having a series of teeth for engaging the wire. 

